A SECOND World War hero and his wife have been left in debt and deeply distressed after a long row over an insurance payout.

Sydney and Dorothy Ward, of Pickering, were having work done in their Ryedale Housing Association bungalow last February when a gas canister exploded in a building accident.

Their home was wrecked, leaving them with almost no possessions, apart from, as Mr Ward said, "the clothes we stood up in."

Unfortunately, Mr Ward, 83, was not insured. But he said that under the terms of the accident, the builder's insurers are liable.

However the insurers deny this, and have refused to pay out. This means Mr Ward and his wife, who is 81, have had to take out a £2,000 overdraft to help pay for the damage.

Mr Ward, who was decorated for his service in the Second World War, said the saga has left him "angry, frustrated and upset".

"Dorothy has been worse affected though, and she has had to be given tablets by the doctor because of it all," he said.

He continued: "It was terrible watching all your life's possessions going up in smoke, and it has been extremely hard to deal with. I have suffered but my wife has found it harder and has been very badly hit.

"I don't understand why they won't accept liability. We have been advised to go to court, but we've been refused legal aid, a barrister would cost thousands and we are already in debt from the overdraft.

"You just end up not knowing which way to turn. It's disgraceful treating an ex-Army man who fought in the last war like this, it really is."

Ryedale Housing Association spokesman Duncan Cruckshank said he was "shocked" when he heard the insurers had not paid out, and advised the couple to seek legal advice.

A spokesman for McLaren Toplis, loss adjusters for the builders' insurers, said: "We were asked to report by the insurers of a firm of contractors who were working on a property in Ashfield Road in Pickering. We have done that, and have been instructed by the insurers not to make any admission of liability. I can't comment any further than that at this stage.

"The insurers have said at this stage they do not want to be identified nor do they want to make any comment."

An Age Concern spokesperson called for a local law firm to take the Ward's case on free of charge, as an act of charity.

He added: "The fact they have been refused legal aid just shows how people on low incomes often can't get justice," the spokesperson added.

reporters@ycpmalton.fsnet.co.uk